Pakistan’s First Chinese-Made “Hangguo”-Class Submarine Completes First Live-Fire Launch
According to Naval News, a French maritime publication, on September 26, 2026, the Pakistan Navy announced that the country’s first Chinese-built “Hangguo”-class submarine, PNS Hangor, successfully conducted its first live-fire missile launch in the northern Arabian Sea.
——Pakistan Navy Press Release
The newly commissioned submarine PNS/M HANGOR successfully carried out its first live-firing exercise in the northern Arabian Sea, marking a significant demonstration of operational readiness and combat capability. The vessel launched an anti-ship cruise missile designed for precision strikes against distant targets. The missile accurately hit its designated target, validating the effectiveness of the submarine’s weapon systems, operational status, and combat performance.
General Naveed Ashraf, Chief of the Naval Staff, personally observed the live-fire exercise at sea. This successful launch represents a critical milestone in PNS/M HANGOR’s transition to full combat capability and underscores the growing undersea warfare capacity of the Pakistan Navy. General Ashraf commended the submarine’s combat readiness and emphasized the importance of sustained development of underwater warfare capabilities in maintaining the Navy’s operational preparedness and credible maritime deterrence posture.
The successful live-fire test reaffirms the Pakistan Navy’s commitment to maintaining a modern, well-prepared, and technologically capable force capable of safeguarding national maritime boundaries and contributing to regional peace and stability.
——Naval News Commentary
The “Hangguo”-class submarine is the export variant of China’s Type 039B Yuan-class submarine. Pakistan signed a contract with China in April 2015 to procure eight units of this class. Under the agreement, four submarines are being built at the Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) in Pakistan, while the remaining four are constructed in China.
The original delivery schedule projected completion between 2022 and 2028. In August 2016, the project’s chief director stated that the first four submarines would be delivered between 2022 and 2023, with the final four expected by 2028. However, the project appears to have experienced delays: the first submarine was launched in 2024 and formally commissioned in April 2026. The second and third submarines were launched in 2025.
The Pakistan Navy has not disclosed detailed information regarding subsystems or specific weapon configurations of the “Hangguo”-class submarines. The S26 design developed by China Shipbuilding and Ocean Engineering Design Institute (CSOC) incorporates a Stirling AIP system; many analysts believe the “Hangguo”-class is based on this design, though the Pakistani government has not officially confirmed the propulsion system used.
According to Quwa, a Pakistan defense blog, the “Hangguo”-class submarine measures 76 meters in length and has a displacement of 2,800 tons—slightly shorter but heavier than the original S26 design.
Currently, the Pakistan Navy (PN) operates three AIP-equipped Agosta 90B diesel-electric submarines and two Agosta 70-class conventional submarines. In 2016, Pakistan signed a contract with Turkey’s STM Company, which serves as prime contractor, to conduct mid-life upgrades of the three Agosta 90B submarines. STM delivered the first upgraded submarine, PNS Hamza, in 2020. The modernization program included replacement of fire control systems, sonar suites, electronic warfare systems, radar, and periscope systems (for navigation and attack).
The acquisition of eight “Hangguo”-class submarines will significantly enhance the Pakistan Navy’s operational strength. Upon full completion of the program, Pakistan is expected to strengthen its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities in the region. Although the exact weapon systems remain unconfirmed by official sources, if equipped with the Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM), the “Hangguo”-class submarines would provide Pakistan with long-range strike capability.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1877581997877258/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.